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1、中文 3570 字 本科毕业 论文 （ 设计 ） 外 文 翻 译 题 目 上市公司会计政策的选择研究 专 业 会 计 学 外文题目 Reporting Critical Accounting Policies 外文出处 THE CPA JOURNAL 外文 作者 Mark P.Holtzman 1 原文 ： Reporting Critical Accounting Policies Accountants inevitably make many accounting estimates and policy decisions when preparing financial statem

2、ents. They must select depreciable lives for long-lived assets. choose an inventory costing method, make assumptions about pensions, and make many more judgments. These accounting estimates are driven by an entitys accounting policy as it applies to the issues at hand. These decisions could signific

3、antly affect a companys financial statements and how users understand a companys results and financial position. For this reason, the SEC requires companies to report critical accounting policies (CAP) as part of Managements Discussion and Analysis (MD&A). The SEC has issued many comment letters abo

4、ut companies CAPS, indicating their importance. What follows is an overview of the SECS requirements and proposed rule on CAPS, as well as a survey of current practices by large companies. The SECS Interpretation In December 2003, the SEC released FR-72, Interpretation: Commission Guidance Regarding

5、 Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (www.sec.gov/rules/interp/33-835O.htm). This covered many different areas of MD&A, including critical accounting estimates. The interpretation defines critical accounting estimates as those estimates or assumptions

6、 where 1 the nature of the estimates or assumptions is material due to the levels of subjectivity and judgment necessary to account for highly uncertain matters or the susceptibility of such matters to change and 2 the impact of the estimates and assumptions on financial condition or operating perfo

7、rmance is material. The rule states that critical accounting estimate disclosures in the MD&A should supplement the description of significant accounting policies provided at the beginning of the notes to the financial statements required under Accounting Principles Board (APB) Opinion 22 and AICPA

8、Statement of Position (SOP) 94-6. The MD&A disclosure should provide more insight into the quality and variability of 2 information on the balance sheet and income statement. Furthermore, the disclosure should analyze the uncertainties involved in applying an accounting principle, or the variability

9、 likely to result from its application over time. Accountants should explain why critical accounting estimates bear the risk of change. Furthermore, they should explain how they arrived at the estimate, how accurate the estimate or assumption has been in the past, how much the estimate or assumption

10、 has changed in the past, and whether the estimate or assumption is reasonably likely to change in the future. When quantitative, material information is available, accountants should quantify the sensitivity to change based on reasonably likely outcomes. The SECS Proposed Rule In May 2002, prior to

11、 the issuance of the above interpretation, the SEC released a proposed rule. “Disclosure in Managements Discussion and Analysis about the Application of Critical Accounting Policies” This proposed rule provides more complete and direct guidance than the interpretation. The SEC has yet to act upon th

12、is proposal; it has not issued any amended proposals or final rules on the matter. Furthermore, the SECS Division of Corporation Finances most recent Current Accounting and Disclosure Issues (November 30, 2006) did not mention CAPS. The proposed rule would redefine the criteria for CAPS to focus on

13、the following: 1) critical accounting estimates that require a company to draw assumptions about highly uncertain matters; and 2) alternate estimates in the current period, or changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely in future periods that would materially impact the presentation of the co

14、mpanys financial condition, changes in financial condition, or results of operations. The proposed rule sets a number of additional disclosures for each estimate. Companies would be required to explain the significance of each critical accounting estimate to the financial statements and, where mater

15、ial, to individual financial statement line items. Furthermore, the proposed rule would require quantifying financial statements sensitivity to changes made in each critical accounting estimate, and disclosing historical changes in a companys critical accounting estimates over the 3 past three years

16、 (two years for small business issuers). Companies would he required to explain the reasons for those changes. For initial adoptions of accounting policies, companies would be required to describe the following: 1) the events or transactions that gave rise to the initial adoption; 2) the accounting

17、principle adopted, and the method of applying it; and 3) the qualitative impact of the adoption on the companys financial statements. If there is a choice among acceptable accounting principles, the company would have to identify the alternatives and describe why it made the choice that it did. In t

18、he absence of existing accounting literature for unusual or novel transactions, a company would be required to explain its decision regarding the initial adoption. The proposed rule implicitly differentiates CAPS from estimates. Policies are plans of action to guide future decisions, whereas estimat

19、es are individual decisions made when preparing financial statement. Companies must disclose information about initial adoptions of new policies. New estimates, however, may need to be reconsidered with every new set of financial statements. Under the proposal, filers would be required to disclose w

20、hether they discussed a companys critical accounting estimates with the audit committee. They would not be requited to disclose the nature of those discussions. Companies operating with more than one segment would have to identify specific segments affected by a CAP. In addition to company-wide crit

21、ical accounting disclosures, companies would have to discuss CAPS for each identified segment. The proposed rule also put forward the idea of requiring an independent audit of MD&A. It would require companies to provide quarterly updates of critical accounting estimates in their quarterly filings, i

22、ncluding newly identified critical accounting estimates, and other material changes that would render previous disclosures out of date or misleading. The proposed rule would not require companies to update sensitivity analyses each quarter. Foreign private issuers would be required to meet these sam

23、e CAP disclosure requirements. Small business issuers would have substantially lower disclosure requirements. Existing safe harbors would apply to forward-looking information. 4 When preparing CAP disclosures, accountants will find the SECS interpretation (FR-72) lacking useful specifies. Even thoug

24、h the SEC has not acted upon it as of yet. accountants should read and consider using the proposed rule as a source of more specific guidance. Current Practice The author reviewed annual reports of the largest 100 publicly traded companies from the Fortune 500. The author analyzed 10-K filings with

25、fiscal year-ends between December 31, 2005, and December 30, 2006. Three accounting issues dominate companies CAP disclosures: impairments, pensions, and income taxes. As indicated in Exhibit 1, 39 out of 100 companies reported CAPS for impairments of intangibles, 25 reported CAPS for impairments in

26、 general, and 14 reported impairments of tangible assets. Another six reported CAPS for the valuation of residual costs of leased assets. With respect to postemployment benefits, 64 companies reported CAPS, and two of those companies reported additional CAPS just for other postemployment benefits. W

27、ith respect to accounting for income taxes, 56 companies reported CAPS. The 100 companies reported many additional types of CAPS, as shown in Exhibit 1. Forty-four companies reported CAPS for contingencies, 32 for revenue recognition, and 32 for bad-debt reserves. Valuation of investments and financ

28、ial instruments was addressed by CAPS for 30 companies, and inventory for 24. Several CAP disclosures were industry-specific. Insurance companies reported claims liabilities as a CAP. Most retailers and retail suppliers addressed purchase and sales allowances (21 CAPS). Oil and gas companies reporte

29、d oil and gas accounting (four CAPS). and entertainment companies reported capitalization of entertainment assets (three CAPS). The average company reported 5.6 CAPS in its MD&A. By contrast, a previous study by the Financial Executives Research Foundation reported an average of 6.1 CAPS per company

30、 (this author, A Review of 2002 MD&A Disclosures: Critical Accounting Policies). The fewest CAPS reported were two, by an investment bank, but this companys disclosures were very long and detailed. The highest number of 5 CAPS reported was 11, by a grocery chain. Many companies provided very detaile

31、d disclosures. For example, Exhibit 2 shows the Ford Motor Companys disclosure about other postemployment benefits (10-K/A, fiscal year-end December 31,2005). This disclosure indicates that management believes that other postemployment benefits are a delicate area of accounting for the company, and

32、that Fords income and financial position are very sensitive to specific assumptions. Ford explains, in detail, the need for estimates and the assumptions used. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis indicates, for example, that a one-point decrease in the discount rate would have increased the compan

33、ys liabilities by $6,330 million and its expenses by $530 million. Exhibit 2 also illustrates many important concepts about reporting such policies. First of all, accountants should write disclosures in plain English, using simple declarative sentences. Use the active voice rather than the passive v

34、oice. Avoid complex words when simple ones will suffice. Use formatting tools, such as bullet points, to clarity the structure of ideas. Ideally, CAP disclosures should explain why estimates are necessary, emphasizing the necessary judgments and the inherent uncertainty in each area. For example, ac

35、cording to Best Buy; “Our impairment loss calculations contain uncertainties because they require management to make assumptions and to apply judgment to estimate future cash flows and asset fair values, including forecasting useful lives of the assets and selecting the discount rate that reflects t

36、he risk inherent in future cash flows” (Form 10-K, 2/25/2006). According to United Technologies: In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, we estimate future taxable income, considering the feasibility of ongoing tax planning strategies and the realizability of tax loss carryforwards. Valuati

37、on allowances related to deferred tax assets can be affected by changes to tax laws, changes to statutory tax rates and future taxable income levels. In the event we were to determine that we would not be able to realize all or a portion of our deferred tax assets in the future, we would reduce such

38、 amounts through a charge to income in the period in which that determination is made. 6 Conversely, if we were to determine that we would be able to realize our deferred tax assets in the future in excess of the net carrying amounts, we would decrease the recorded valuation allowance through an inc

39、rease to income in the period in which that determination is made. Subsequently recognized tax benefits associated with valuation allowances recorded in a business combination will be recorded as an adjustment to goodwill (www.sec.gov). The disclosures should describe the companys accounting. For ex

40、ample, Delphi Corporation explains how it estimates future cash flows when testing long-lived assets for impairment: “We estimate cash flows using internal budgets based on recent sales data, independent automotive production volume estimates and customer commitment and consultation with and input f

41、rom external valuation experts” (Form 10-K. 12/31/2005). Companies should provide sensitivity analysis for each critical accounting area, quantifying how different estimates could affect the financial statements. For example, Lockheed Martin issued the following disclosure about Accounting for Desig

42、n, Development and Production Contracts: Products and services provided under long-term design, development and production contracts make up the majority of our business. Therefore, the amounts we record in our financial statements using contract accounting methods and cost accounting standards are

43、material. Because of the significance of the judgments and estimation processes, it is likely that materially different assumption could he recorded if we used different assumptions or if the underlying circumstances were to change. For example, if underlying assumptions were to change such that our

44、 estimated profit at completion for all design, development and production contracts was higher or lower by 1%, our net earnings would increase or decrease by approximately $ 190 million. When adjustments in estimated contract revenues or costs are required, any changes from prior estimates are incl

45、uded in earnlings in the current period (Form 10-K, 12/31/2005). 7 Postenmloyment Benefits Income Taxes Impairment of Intangibles Other Revenue Recognition Bad-Debt Reserves Investments and Financial Instruments Insurance Impairment Inventory Sales and Purchase Allowances Stock-based Compensation Im

46、pairment of Tangibles Acquisition and Consolidation Derivatives and Securitization Warranty Costs Restructuring Costs Long-term Contracts Depreciation and Amortization Investments in Leases Environmental Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs Oil and Gas Entertainment Other Postemployment Benefits Freque

47、nt-Flyer and Membership Asset Retirement Obligation Critical Accounting Policies Reported Source： Mark P.Holtzman. Reporting Critical Accounting PoliciesJ.THE CPA JOURNAL,2007： 42-44 8 译文 ： 重要会计政策的报告 当准备财政决算时，会计 人员 不可避免地做出许多会计估计和政策决策。他们必须选择长期资产的折旧年限 ， 选择一个 存货 成本计算方法，做关于退休金的假定，并且做许多评断。当它 运用于身边的 问题时，这

48、些会计评估 将 被实体的会计政策驱使 。 这些决定有可能严重影响公司的财务报表以及用户如何了解一个公司的业绩和财务状况。 出于这个原 因，美国证券交易委员会要求公司报告 “ 重要会计政策 ” 作为管理讨论与分析（ MD A）的一部分。 美国证券交易委员会 已发出许多关于公司的重要会计政策 的评论信件，表明他们的重要性。 以下便是美国证券交易委员会的要求概述，并提出关于重要会计政策的规则，以及大型企业关于目前做法的调查。 2003 年 12 月，美国证券交易委员会公布的 FR-72， “ 解释 说，在 委员会的指导下 进行了对 财务状况和经营业绩管理的讨论与分析 ” 。 这涉及许多不同领域的 管

49、理讨论与分析 ，其中包括 重要 的会计估计。 美国证券交易委员会的解释对重要的会计估计的具体定义如下 ：“ 估计或假设，其中 1估计或假设的 实质是 由于主观判断必须 要 考虑高度不确定性的事项或该事项的敏感性 2这个估计或假设 对财务状况或经营业绩的影响是重大的。 ” 该规则规定在财务报告开头的注释中由 MD&A 提供重要 的会计估计 的说明 必须根据会计原则委员会（ APB）的 第 22 条 意见和美国注册会计师协会的声明（ SOP）94-6。 MD A 里披露的，应提供更深入的质量和在资产负债表和损益表信息变异的见解。此外，应分析披露会计原则在运用所涉及的不确定性，或变异可能导致其随着时

50、间的推移 的 应用。 会计师应解释为什么重要的会计估 计会承担变更的风险。此外，他们还应解释怎样得出这个估计，过去怎样精确估计或怎样假设，过去的估计和假设发生了怎样的变化，这些估计和假设在未来是否可能会发生合理地变化。定量的信息是有效的，会计师应根据合理的结果来量化敏感度。 美国证券交易委员会的规则提案 在 2002 年 5 月，在上述解释发行前，证券交易委员会发布了一项规则。“管理讨论的披露和关于重要的会计政策的应用的分析” 。 这项规则提供了比在最后9 定案的规则上发行任何修正的建议最后定案的规则的意见。而且，证券交易委员会对公司财务的最新的现行的会计披露问题 (2006 年 11 月 3

51、0 日 )没有提到重要的会计政策。 这项规则重新定义为重要会计政策的标准： 1）至关重要的会计估计需要公司对高度不确定的事情做出假设； 2）在当前的时间交替估计，估计的变化可能会在未来期间对公司提交的公司财务状况的介绍及其变化或经营成果产生实质性影响。 这项 规则设置一个额外的 对 每个估计数 的 信息披露。公司必须解释财务报表上 每个 重要 会计估计 的 意义，个别财务报表项目 也需要解释 。此外， 这项 规则要求量化财务报表， 披露 会计估计的变更 和 历史变迁，在过去三年 里 公司的重要会计估计（小企业 为二 年） ， 公司 还 必须解释这些变化的原因 。 对于会计政策的初步 应用 ，公

52、司将被要求 作出以下说明 ： 1） 引起政策采用的 事件或交易 ； 2） 采用的会计原则和方法； 3）定性的 分析采用的会计政策对财务报表的影响 。如果有一个可以接受的会计原则 可供 选择，公司将不得不找出办法 来 说明它为什么做了 这样的选择 。在现有会计的不寻常 处理 情况下，公司 必须 解释其 关于初次采用政策的决定 。 这项 规则隐含 地 区别于 重要的会计政策估计 。政策是行动 的 计划， 用来 指导未来的决策，而估计 是 编制财务报表时作出 的 个别决定。公司必须披露有关新政策的初步 采用 信息。但是，新的估计可能需要与每一套新的财务报表 连起来 考虑。 根据建议，申报者将被要求披

53、露是否与审核委员会讨论 过 公司的重要会计估计。他们不需要 公开讨论的性质 。 公司设有多个 部门，必须对重要会计政策的影响进行鉴定 。除了 整个 公司 的重要的会计信息披露，公司 必须 讨论每一个 部门的重要会计政策 。 该 规则还提出了一个要求独立 审计管理讨论与分析的意见。 这将要求公司提供季度的重要会计估计 的资料 ，包括新发现的重要会计估计及其他重大变化， 这样 将会使过时或误导 的 披露 得到补偿 。 该 规则不会要求公司每季度更新敏感性分析。外国私人发行人 必 须满足这些相同的 重要会计政策披露的要求 。小企业 将大大降低披露要求。现有的 避风港 将适用于 有远见的信息。 在准备

54、 重要会计政策 披露 时 ，会计师会发现美国证券交易委员会的解释（ FR- 10 72）缺乏有用的 说明 。 即使 美国证券交易委员会 还 没有采取行动 ， 会计师 也 应阅读并考虑使用一个更具体的 规则来作为 指导 。 目前的做法 笔者回顾 了 从财富 500 强 中选取的前 100 家上市公司 的 年度报告。笔者分析了 2005 年 12 月 31 日到 2006 年 12 月 30 日期间的年度公开文件。 三个会计问题主导公司的 重要的会计政策 披露： 减值 ， 养老 金和所得税。如图表 1 所示， 100 家公司中有 39 家报 告关于 无形资产减值 的会计政策 ， 有 25 家报告一

55、般的减值的会计政策 ， 14 家报告 有形资产 的 减值 的会计政策 。另外六 家报告 了 关于 租赁资产的剩余 价值的会计政策 。关于 就业后的好处， 64 家公司报道 重要的会计政策 ，这些公司 中有两家报道额外的关于雇员福利的会计政策 。关于所得税会计， 56 家公司报道 重要的会计政策 100 家公司 的会计政策报告中 的 有许多 类型，如图表 1 所示。四十四家公司报道了关于意外事件的会计政策选择 ， 32 家报到了关于税收的政策 ， 32 家报道了关于 坏帐准备 的政策 。 30 家公司 报道了关于 投资和金融工具 的政策 ， 24 家报道了关于 存货的政策。 特定行业的一些会计政

56、策披露。保险公司的索赔报告是一个重要的会计政策。大多数零售商和零售供应商处理销售折让；石油和天然气公司的会计报告；娱乐公司报告的娱乐资产资本化。 公司 平均在管理讨论与分析中报告 5.6 个重要的会计政策。 相比之下，财务执行官研究基金会 在 过去的研究报告 中显示 ，每家公司 平均报告 6.1 个重要的会计政策。 （作者， 2002 年 MD A 里披露述评： 重要的 会计政策） 。 最少的是 投资银行，它只 报告 了 两个 重要的会计政策， 但该公司的信息披露 的篇幅很长，内容也非常细 。 重要的会计政策 的报告数最高 的是杂货 店，它报告了 11 个。 许多公司提供了非常详细的披露。例如

57、，福特汽车公司的 有关 退休福利 的 披露（会计年度结束 日 2005 年 12 月 31 日）。本披露表明，管理层认为，退休福利是公司 会计所管辖的一部门 ，而 在特定的假设条件下 福特的收入和财务状况是非常敏感的。福特 详细地 解释说， 这是 估计和假设的需要。此外，分析表明，例如，贴现率减少 一个百分点 将增加 6330 百 万美元，费用 则达到 5.3 亿美元。 福特汽车公司的例子 还说明了有关报告 中的 政策的许多重要概念。首先，会11 计师应该使用简单的陈述句写 一些 简单的英语披露。 应 使用被动语态，而不是主动语态。 应 避免使用复杂的单词， 使用 简单的就 可以 了。 为了理

58、清思路结构，可以使用格式化工具 。 理想的情况下， 会计政策 披露应该解释为什么 这个 估计是必要的，强调有必要的判断和各 方面 固有的不确定 因素 。例如，根据 百思买集团 ， “ 我们的减值损失计算包含 着 不确定性，因为它们需要管理层 做 出假设， 然后 运用判断来估计未来现金流量和资产的公允价值，其中包括预测资产使用年限和选择的折现率，以反映在未来的现金流量风险 。” （ 2006 年 2 月 25 日 ）。 根据联合国技术： 为 评估 跌价 准备的需要，我们估计未来应纳税所得额，考虑到正在进行的税收筹划 策略的可行性 及税务亏损扣抵的实现性 。有关递延税项资产备抵评价会受到税收法律

59、的影响 ， 会 改变法定税率和未来的应纳税 所得 。倘若我们要确定我们将 来能否 实现全部或 部分的 递延 所得税 资产，我们将减少 这期间的赊销收入 。反过来说，如果我们要确定我们将能够实现在未来的净账面值超出我们的递延 所得税 资产，我们将通过减少在此期间增加的收入。 随后 记录企业合并相关的税收优惠作为商誉调整项目。 (www.sec.gov) 披露应该描述一下这个公司的会计 。例如，德尔福公司解释它如何估计未来现金流量进行 长期资产的 减值测试时： “ 我们估计现金流量， 是 利用最近的销售数据， 对 独立的汽车生产量的估计和对客户的承诺，并协商输入的内部预算 ”。（ 2005 年 1

60、2 月 31 日） 公司应当为每个 重要的 会计领域的 提供 敏感性分析，如何量化不同的估计可能会影响到财务报表。例如，洛克希德马丁公司发出的关于 “ 为设计 、 开发和生产合同会计 ” 披露如下：产品 的 长远设计，开发和生产合同提供的服务构成了我们的大部分业务。因此 ,我们 在 财务报表 中记录的金额 使用合同成本会计核算方法和标准的材料。由于判断和估计程序的意义很可能大不相同， 所以如果我们使用不同的假设或者基本假设变了，就会出现不同的记录结果 。 例如，如果基本假设 变了 ，这样我们估计的利润 在 所有设计 、 开发和生产合同完工时 会 高于或低于1，公司的净盈利将 会 增加或减少约 1.9 亿美元。当收入或成本估算合同调整时 ，先前估计的任何更改都包括在 当 期 收入。 （ 2005 年 12 月 31 日） 12 雇员 好处 所得税 无形资产减值 其他 收入确认 坏帐准备金 投资及金融工具 保险 减值 库存 销售和购买津贴 基于股票的补偿 有形资产减值 收购及合并 衍生工具及证券化 保修成本 重组成本 长期合同 折旧及摊销 投资租赁 环境 递延保单获得 成本 石油和天然气 娱乐 其他退休福利 飞行常客和成员 资产报废的义务 资料来源： Mark P.Holtzman. 重要会计政策的报告J.注册会计师日志， 2007： 42-4 1